Alejandro Balde's Future at Barcelona Under Scrutiny Amid United Interest
Alejandro Balde’s Barcelona future is under fresh scrutiny after the left-back was left out of Hansi Flick’s 21-man squad for Sunday night’s trip to Elche in Alicante.
The Spaniard’s absence is no minor detail. It lands just as Manchester United’s pursuit of a new left-back has accelerated and Balde’s name has moved to the top of their list.
United circle as Balde sits out
Barcelona begin their delayed LaLiga title defence a week later than most, but Balde will not be involved. His omission follows days of reports that United have identified the 22-year-old as their preferred option to succeed Luke Shaw, with the Premier League club keen to strike before the window closes on September 1.
United are understood to have already contacted Balde’s agent, Jorge Mendes, to explore the framework of a potential deal. Spanish reports, relayed by Sport Witness, say Mendes met Barcelona officials on Friday to discuss two of his clients, Balde and Marc Casado, during a trip to Catalonia initially focused on finalising Joao Cancelo’s return to Camp Nou.
Flick is said not to be pushing for Balde’s sale. Yet the defender’s exclusion from the travelling party to Elche – alongside fellow transfer-linked youngsters Casado and Hector Fort – tells its own story. For a club that needs sales and a player attracting serious Premier League interest, every selection decision is loaded.
Jijantes have gone further, claiming Balde himself now wants to leave in the final days of the window as Mendes works the market for a new destination.
United’s left-back search intensifies
At Old Trafford, the need is clear. Luke Shaw turned 31 last month and has entered the final year of his contract, though United hold an option to extend it by 12 months. The club have been planning for a long-term successor and had initially placed Lewis Hall at the top of their shortlist.
That route has effectively closed. Newcastle, already braced by the departures of Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon this summer, have shown no appetite to sanction another major exit. There have been whispers of a late United bid for Hall, but with just over a week left in the window, that deal is being described as virtually impossible.
So the search has widened. RB Leipzig captain David Raum has been linked, as has Racing Santander’s Jorge Salinas, who is also on Atletico Madrid’s radar. Eintracht Frankfurt’s Nathaniel Brown is another name under consideration.
Yet Balde, young, proven at the top level and suddenly on the fringes of Barcelona’s matchday squad, looks like the most attainable elite option if the numbers line up.
Carrick’s needs laid bare
United’s recruitment drive this summer has already delivered in midfield. They have just completed the signing of Carlos Baleba from Brighton, a deal worth an initial £65million plus a further £5m in add-ons, finally landing the third midfield reinforcement they had been chasing.
Attention now swings back to the left side of defence, where Michael Carrick’s need for reinforcements was brutally exposed on the opening weekend of the Premier League season. United went to newly-promoted Hull and lost 2-0, a flat performance that followed a worrying pre-season finale – a 4-2 defeat to AC Milan, managed by former United boss Ruben Amorim.
Those results sharpened the focus. This is a squad still short in key areas, and left-back sits near the top of that list.
As Balde watches Barcelona’s latest title defence begin from afar and United scramble to fix a glaring weakness, the question is no longer whether the two stories intersect – but how quickly the deal-making can catch up with the urgency on the pitch.
